Makes marketing sense

There was an interesting article in The Bookseller about an author, Kit Berry, winning a six-figure sum for rights to her self-published series.

After receiving quite a number of rejections (including one from the publisher that have made the offer) she self-published and I think there are now 4 or 5 books in the series.

Why did Gollanz/Orion want her now? Because she has built up a loyal following through her own home-grown social network site. She brings to the publisher this loyal band of readers.

Imagine they had published her first book 5 years ago? It would have probably received minimal marketing and exposure. It may have not sold many copies. The publishers would probably not have bothered with the next book and poor Kit Berry might have felt that her books weren't good enough.

But going down the route that she has has proved that wrong and she has ended up with the best of both worlds.

Publishers often publish too many books and give them too few resources to succeed. If you really believe in your book and you don't get a publishing deal, this may be a route to explore. The article gives you some tips on how Kit Berry made it work for her.

Don't think it is an easy option, I don't wonder that building up a community like this takes a lot of determination and hard work. Perhaps more than writing the book.